Poll time: Is this the year Dogs finally thump Gators?
Orson Charles and Dogs came close last year but lost in overtime. (Brant Sanderlin)
Here we go again. Does I-95 morph into Georgia’s “Trail of Tears” again?
Heading to Athens this morning for Mark Richt’s weekly news conference. I think you can make a case that this is the most important Georgia-Florida game during Richt’s administration, given the ramifications for both this season (the SEC East is still up for grabs) and the big picture (no elaboration necessary).
Loading ...The Gators have lost three straight, but they had lost three straight last season when they defeated the Bulldogs in overtime 34-31. The Dogs have won five straight, but the fact the wins have comes over Coastal Carolina, Mississippi,Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt justifiably tempers the celebration (the four SEC opponents have a combined conference record of 1-15.)
I’m not ready to make a prediction yet. You’ll have to wait a couple of days. But here are a few reasons why either team can win, just in case you need something to ponder before voting in the who’s-going-to-win poll.
Why Georgia will win:
• 1) Better quarterback: Aaron Murray has not had a great season but he should be given the edge over John Brantley, who is expected to return from an injury after missing two and a half games and figures to be rusty.
• 2) Better defense: It might be difficult to tell because of the level of opponents, but the Dogs’ defense has improved this season (third in the SEC, sixth in the nation at 272.9 yards per game), and to a lesser degree in scoring (20.4 ranks sixth in the SEC, 27th in the nation).
• 3) Law of averages: Florida has won 18 of the last 21 meetings. Richt has lost three straight and eight of 10. But the Dogs came close last year. It has to turn at some point … doesn’t it?
Why Florida will win:
• 1) Weis vs. defense: The Florida offense has been a mess the last few weeks. But Charlie Weis is one of the best offensive coaches in the game and now he gets back his starting quarterback. Even if Brantley’s timing is off, Weis will put him in the right situations to succeed.
• 2) This could be a three-point game. So it seems appropriate to point out that the Florida kicker (Caleb Sturgis) is 15 for 16 and the Georgia kicker (Blair Walsh) is 12 for 20.
• 3) The Gators are not nearly as bad as they’ve been made out to be. They were waxed in consecutive games by Alabama and LSU, but those two are leveling everybody. In the last game, a 17-6 loss to Auburn, Florida was still missing Brantley. Can we really say they’re worse than Georgia? To date, the schools have had only one common opponent: Tennessee. The Dogs won 20-12; the Gators won 33-23. That’s a push. Florida has beaten Kentucky and lost to Auburn, which Georgia hasn’t played yet. Georgia has lost to South Carolina and beaten Vanderbilt, which Florida hasn’t played yet.
By Jeff Schultz
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430 comments Add your comment
Greyhound
October 25th, 2011
3:26 pm
Notre Dame tried to throw Charlie Weis under the bus,
but Charlie was bigger than the bus.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
3:28 pm
Gatormeat-
The only thing mighty about the gators this season are the three consecutive woodshed beatdowns they have received with no pulse on offense and a porous defense.
Scraping Teeth
October 25th, 2011
3:32 pm
What most you do not realize is the gator tank is sinking and CWM and co. are not the right fit for this program. You can not learn on the job at this school like our current prez is doing with our country. Doesn’t work and never will. The UF coaching staff will implode after this loss. UGA has scored 42+ points in games vs. a CWM defense. The guy was overated at UGA as a starter and has been overated as a DFC. You will see in about the next 36 months that this is reality. Lots of hype and no organization.
Scraping Teeth
October 25th, 2011
3:35 pm
BTW, UF put what they thought was the C Block on UGA by hiring CWM. What you all did not realize is that we did not want him as the future of UGA fball to begin with. Maybe next time you will do your homework like you did with CUM. LMAO
RedandBlackDawg
October 25th, 2011
3:36 pm
Flattire,
Is that seriously an analogy you want to use when comparing loyalty to UGA. If you have a Chance to advance your pay to three times of what you are making at present, you should take it. What the hell has that got to do with loyalty, unless you work for the sheer pleasure of it.Work is about making a living and being able to support your family.
Loyalty to your team, may not mean you can not criticize them, but it does require that you recognize their good points as well. You aren’t getting paid for being a fan, and if you think they aren’t worthy of your support, don’t contribute to tickets, alumni institution or any of the assorted UGA memorabilia.
alphaescape
October 25th, 2011
3:39 pm
vegas odds are on georgia, -3, not florida. Unless a massive amount of money was wagered in last 24 hours.
Jimmy The Geek
October 25th, 2011
3:41 pm
Since Vegas flipped the point spread to tthe Dawgs that means they know Brantely will not be playing. Gator defense is good and will keep the game close. Just like last year the game will be decided by field goals.
King Gator
October 25th, 2011
3:42 pm
Shoot why even play the game, sounds like Georgia is so much better than Florida this year that there’s no chance we’ll win…something tells me we should go ahead and play the game just in case all of the Dawg supporters posting on here are wrong, just saying – that’s why they play the game. Go Gators!
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
3:47 pm
Without Brantley, their offense has 2 options:
*Limit mistakes, and therefore, limit offensive production against one of the best defenses in the nation.
*Take some risks to get an early lead and rely on psychological advantage banking the dawgs will give up.
In the first scenario, they will rely heavy on the run (which they won’t get) and lose to balanced offense.
In the second scenario, freshmen will make, well, freshmen mistakes and give our defense turnovers and set our offense up with a short field (where we will kick field goals and make the game look much closer than it is), losing to a really good defense.
Either way, you are going to look like you have JV coaches.
Gators got the clap
October 25th, 2011
3:47 pm
ALL gators are idiots. They will be back in the closet after being crushed by GA.
She is a 10
October 25th, 2011
3:48 pm
UGA – 42
UF – 17
Jean-short Gaytors
October 25th, 2011
3:51 pm
gators will be taking a bullet between the eyes and thrown back in the swamp to rot Saturday night!
j
October 25th, 2011
3:55 pm
O love how you act like UGAy is so good. They have still not taken down a good team. To be honest, they looked equal to Vandy. They will get beat again by Fla.
Paint the picture Larry!
October 25th, 2011
3:56 pm
F the Gaytors, bunch of worthless piss-ants!
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
3:58 pm
Florida will now compete to see how long it can keep its bowl streak going instead of actually caring which bowl they are in. That is a classic example of a “downward trend”.
Where ya living now?
October 25th, 2011
3:59 pm
Noticed the obnoxious gators in here got out of that hellhole state and moved to GA
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:03 pm
Florida is now on par with Missouri, Texas Tech, Cal, and Notre Dame in the “irrelevant spoiler” status. Good luck, chumps!
deacondawg
October 25th, 2011
4:03 pm
The word is “lose”, not “loose”. If you plan to back my alma mater, please conquer simple grammer. Dawgs win 31-20.
WDE
October 25th, 2011
4:03 pm
@King Gator I assure you my slimy friend we want to play this game….no gimme’s no excuses line up and hit somebody! Go Dogs !
The Beginning of the End
October 25th, 2011
4:06 pm
Starting at 3:38 Eastern Time, the UGA Football team will see the beginning to their hopes for an SEC Eastern Divison title. The doubt among the UGA Family is so funny to read and hear that any other course but removing the once great CMR from the Head Coaching title in Athens is recipe for another year of disappointment and heartache. You have half the dawg faithful blaming Bobo, the other half blaming everyone else but in the end the responsibilty lies squarely on Mark Richt’s shoulders. This time last year the UGA family were blaming the offensive line staff, Bobo and the strenght and conditioning staff, while doubting Todd Grantham and his defensive philosophy. All the while Urban Meyer was seeing the writing on the wall that the LSU’s, Alabama’s Auburn’s, Arkansas’s and South Carolina’s had figured out how to stop his spread offense and he was about to bail out at Florida. However he could still beat UGA one more time and did.
Now the 2011 VERSION….the Dawg Nation still doubting the head coach and OC, while UF without their starting QB for 10 quarters are headed for a showdown in JACKSONVILLE. UF has world class speed with the 16th ranked defense even after two blow out losses and a poor loss to Auburn.
An OC with a super bowl ring verse a OC without much on his resume. DC advantage UGA, Special Teams UGA, Confidence- a wash base on the past 21 games in the series. Discipline advantage UF.
All in All….looks like a toss up, but in the big picture, if Brantley lines up with Demps, Rainey and the Gilly the speed will make UGA have a great deal of time wanting to score and score in a hurry.
harold
October 25th, 2011
4:06 pm
FLORIDA DOES NOT HAVE A GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM. UGA WINS IN A CAKE WALK!
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:08 pm
Estimated Team Totals
UGA rushing-190 FL-135
UGA passing-280 FL-145
Final Score- UGA 33 FL 17
The Beginning of the End
October 25th, 2011
4:09 pm
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:03 pm
Florida is now on par with Missouri, Texas Tech, Cal, and Notre Dame in the “irrelevant spoiler” status. Good luck, chumps!
With that logic it puts UGA on the same par as Georgia Tech in the ACC..ALWAYS Looking up!
Wow
October 25th, 2011
4:11 pm
How can anyone justify that UGA has improved and brag on their defense? Look at their opponents the last few weeks! If they get to the Ga dome, they might wish they had come in second in the east. That will be a game of men against boys, no matter if it is LSU or Alabama.
Ray Goof's Hat
October 25th, 2011
4:12 pm
Mutt – you’ve got to go up before you can have a “downward trend.” Since the leg humpers lost to a freakin’ Conference USA team to put the cherry on last year’s gem, I’d say that UGAg is officially immune from gravity.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:14 pm
Except that Tech’s last ACC title was in 1998 and Richt has 2 at Georgia. Tech has 1 BCS bowl loss and Richt is 2-1 in the Sugarbowl. Oh, and Richt is 9-1 against Tech…I don’t really see any parity there at all, Beginning. Maybe its just me though.
The Beginning of the End
October 25th, 2011
4:20 pm
2009…EVEN if THE NCAA took their title away..they compare nicely with UGA!
The Beginning of the End
October 25th, 2011
4:23 pm
Go read Chip’ article, even CMR realizes that his schedule compared to UF has been cakewalkish and the schedule gods were very kind to UGA this year.
By the way….Clemson waylays GT first then VT pops them second and Paul Johnson is forced to change his offense to a spread offense that can throw it…all the while UGA loses to UF, or wins a very close one, but loses one out of the remaining 4 and idles by as USC gets hammered in the Dome by LSU or Alabama.
Vance
October 25th, 2011
4:28 pm
With on a 20% win percentage, the bet is against Richt and on UF. Since we have everything to lose this year, I hope that will be motivation enough to pull out a win….but don’t bet on it…..
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:29 pm
I like how it’s suddenly “UGA is not as good as people are saying” to defend the fact that Florida is a s___ty football team! You are so funny…it’s almost cute. It sounds like how we’ve tried to defend Richt the past two years!
A Fan
October 25th, 2011
4:41 pm
The worst thing that could happen to UGA is making it to the SEC championship game. First, they will get clobbered by LSU or Bama. Second, CMR and Bobo will keep their jobs for winning the (pitiful) SEC east. Third, dilusional fans will think UGA is a real contender for the SEC title next year, when really it’s just a matter of the Dogs playing in a terrible division with a weak schedule. This create another year unrealistic and dilusional expections.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:44 pm
Why are people using historical records to compare these two teams? If Brantley plays, an already immobile/injured quarterback will be faced with some of the fastest and best pass-rushing linebackers in the league blitzing him every down while he shakes the rust off. If this kid makes it through the first half, I’d give him a helmet sticker. Without Brantley, UGA is free to play the run and smother a one-dimensional offense. I just don’t understand where any of this Florida confidence derrives apart from a statistic that has no bearing on THIS year’s game. If you had told Florida fans in 1989 that they were going to win 18 of the next 21 games, they would have looked at you like you had a concussion. It’s a year to year rivalry, and honestly you aren’t bringing enough horses to this one.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
4:47 pm
The funniest part about it all, is that when we beat you, every analyst and sports pundit on earth is going to be saying we STILL haven’t beaten anyone (a “good” team). That should tell you just how much you suck right there.
Man Enough Dawg
October 25th, 2011
4:52 pm
Florida is a shadow of what it was. Urban brought in too many sissy players that cry and kissy kiss on the sidelines. Now they get beat up by other teams and all faces that Muschump makes can’t change the fact that they are going to get another beat down on Saturday.
Dawg TT
October 25th, 2011
5:07 pm
Brantley has a gimpy ankle, fla’s oline is terrible and they have no good receivers. How are they even going to score against this angry Dawg D? Grantham’s going to be on fire after the disrespect from fla last year. Look for an easy Dawg win—Richt may run up the score to let muschamp know that Ga is the top dog from now on the in the SEC east. Ga 30 fla 3!!!
Ray Goof's Hat
October 25th, 2011
5:34 pm
The really funny thing to all of this UGA bravado is that last year an awful Gator team came into the WLOCP riding a three game losing streak (including a 31-6 debacle against Bama), with a dysfunctional, low-scoring offense, and beat Georgia on a field goal by its punter, who was replacing the injured kicker. It’s a rivalry game and anything can happen.
Boca Baby
October 25th, 2011
5:51 pm
If Georgia finally fires on all cylinders it will be a blow-out. Florida is reeling.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
6:07 pm
Georgia’s defense is lightyears ahead of last year’s unit. The offense is the same vanilla, pass to set-up run bullcrap we’ve seen for years. Both teams suck on Special Teams. Florida has a terrible offense and a gimpy QB. As I said before, Florida just doesn’t have a squad this year. You are still riding the stats from blow-outs against Kentucky, FAU and UAB who have been just a notch ahead of New Mexico for the worst teams in FBS fooball, and still rank 100th in passing. Say what you will about our schedule, but those wins against Miss St, Ole Miss and Vandy at least look like an actual football team was on the field. You know who Florida reminds me of? 2010 UGA: No team cohesion, a terrible offense, and woodshed beatings from any team that can field 22 starters on offense and defense. 33-17 UGA.
Freud was not a Bulldog
October 25th, 2011
6:11 pm
History DOES have a bearing this this case. Players on both sides know of Florida’s dominance the past 21 years. They hear Richt admit that the question he’s asked most often in the offseason is, “When are you finally going to beat Florida?” Georgia players hear their fan base complain about losing to the Gators. They hear their fans (and Richt!) talk about how it is unfair to play the game in the state of Florida, how they are always the visiting team and have to travel farther and that the game needs to be moved. All these demons are inside the heads of the Georgia players and they will continue to be there unless/until Georgia wins a few of these games. Until then, the edge goes to Florida.
UGAmutt
October 25th, 2011
6:27 pm
Tell yourself whatever you need to in order to give yourself a mental check mark somewhere on your checklist for where Florida has an advantage in this game. The only place you potentially HAD us was RB, and your conference games have exposed you there:
QB-UGA
RB-UGA
OL-UGA
WR-UGA
DL-UGA
LB-UGA
DB-UGA
ST-FL
UGA89
October 25th, 2011
6:49 pm
Enter your comments here
Warhorse
October 25th, 2011
7:14 pm
Grantham will do something classless (can he do anything else?) and get fired by Richt after the season. Will it be thuggish fighting by Grantham or childish throat gestures? We will know after Saturday because the guy is a total loser who should not be on a college campus.
Warhorse
October 25th, 2011
7:16 pm
Man Enough Dawg is a typical digital tough guy. All talk about maniliness — from a computer. He probably whimpers when his wife calls — if he is man enought to have a wife.
Floridian for Gators
October 25th, 2011
7:49 pm
Here’s a message: If fans call themselves Gator fans then they MUST live in Florida. REAL Gator fans went to school in Florida and LIVE in Florida all others are wanna be posers and pretend-Gators. The Gator experience must be devoted and lived in the state that produced the Gators…and the jury is still out on our new Bulldog born and bred head coach. We need a Florida man at the helm. Hear that Kerwin Bell?? Oh, yeah!
Ben Catrwright
October 25th, 2011
7:51 pm
Work ‘em silly?? What in the….. Are you serious? Give me REAL SEC football anyday. Gators to the ACC or Mid-America!
Jadeveon Clowney
October 25th, 2011
7:58 pm
The only thing that matters in this game is Charlie Weis with his experience and 2 weeks to prepare will obliterate Grantham’s porous D.
baddawg
October 25th, 2011
8:10 pm
Dawgs are 1-2 for the date of Oct. 29th vs Florida. Time to even that record out.
hotdog
October 25th, 2011
8:15 pm
I say we beat the scoring record from 1942 and beat the gators 76-0. That would make the series record 48–40–2 with UGA leading the all time series.
old dawg
October 25th, 2011
9:36 pm
cmr took the steam out of the team with his lack of defense of events at the vandy game.
fl by 10.
goal line offense and special teams will do them in.
Pitbull
October 25th, 2011
9:44 pm
Dawgs could be spotted 3 touchdowns and still lose. It’s all in their head and Fla has it in their head they can’t lose. Bobo coaches like a old woman. That’s what happens when you live with a house full of kids and is probably henpecked! I don’t even know if Saban could turn it around. Probably could! They say a team takes on the personality of their Coach. No kidding! Does the team have a leader? No. Is Richt a leader, No. Bobo, yeah right. That’s your answer.